With just under a week to go before the 2010 Tri Nations Series gets underway in Auckland, New Zealand, where the All Blacks are set to face the Springboks, who have in recent times taken over the role of tournament favourites, things have started to heat up.

The customary sledging between the opposing coaching staff has begun, with All Black assistant coach, Steve Hansen, quoted as saying something along the lines of Peter De Villiers having an “upside down mouth…”? Yip, I’m confused about that one too.

PDV half proved Hansen wrong so far, by keeping his composure, and just saying that the era of awe surrounding the All Blacks has come to an end.

The following from SARU:  Title-holders the Springboks have assembled in Auckland to begin the defence of the Vodacom Tri-Nations crown they secured in Hamilton less than 12 months ago.

The Boks, who travelled to New Zealand in two groups over the weekend, start their 2010 Vodacom Tri-Nations campaign against the All Blacks at Eden Park on Saturday. It is the first of two successive clashes against New Zealand, with the second encounter set for Wellington on 17 July. A week later the World Champions will meet Australia in Brisbane before returning to South Africa.

Coach Peter de Villiers said he expected the 2010 edition of the Southern Hemisphere showpiece to be closely fought.

“It is going to be very tight, as it usually is,” De Villiers said. “The rivalry between the three teams is such that there is seldom much to choose between them. There is a lot of respect for each other but we all know how important the tournament is this year with a World Cup in 2011. There will be more points to be scored than merely those on the scoreboard.

“We would like to build on our recent successes on New Zealand soil. It won’t be easy but we will give it our best shot over the next two weeks. Success here will be an important confidence booster for the World Cup too,” De Villiers said.

The Boks beat New Zealand an unprecedented three times in the Vodacom Tri-Nations in 2009 on their way to winning five out of their six matches and their third title after victories in 1998 and 2004. The Boks only loss in the 2009 tournament was against the Wallabies in Brisbane.

“Last season we had a great draw and getting three wins at home really worked in our favour. With an away start this year we have to approach things differently because we know how tough it can be on the road. We will also be up against local weather conditions and passionate local support too so there is a lot of focus and planning to do.”

The Bok coach said the fact that South Africa was the reigning champion would count for little in the 2010 tournament.

“That is in the past. If we don’t look forward we won’t move forward. What worked for us in 2009 will not work for us this year and we will have to find new and different ways to get the results we want. The All Blacks, like us, have had a very good build up into the tournament with good wins over Ireland and Wales and we expect them be as tough as they always are,” De Villiers said.

Springbok captain John Smit said his team would approach each game as a new and separate challenge.

“History has taught us that you cannot get ahead of yourself in the Tri-Nations. Last season we won our first four but still had to beat New Zealand in our final match to be certain of the title. We will take it a game at a time and make sure that we continue to seek improvements in all areas of our game.

“There will always be those little improvements that have to be made to ensure the overall performance is where we want it to be and that takes on even more importance as we get closer and closer to the World Cup.

“There is still a lot of rugby to be played between now and then but we ha e to make the most of every opportunity that comes our way,” Smit said.

• The Springboks are expected to name their match 22 at a press conference in Auckland on Tuesday.

Let’s take a look at what went down in last year’s Tri Nations Tournament: [CombatBok]

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